Removing the upper torsion arms

There is a trick to removing the upper torsion arms. The upper torsion arms have a great amount of tension on them from the torsion bars. The tension is focused on the upper torsion stop. The stop must be removed before the torsion bar can be taken away from the beam.

To remove the torsion arms follow the following steps.

1. Take the retaining clips off, from the back of the upper torsion stop.

2. Use a jack (if beam is mounted to bus) or a large pry bar (if beam is not mounted to bus) to remove tension from the rubber stop.

• Using the pry bar, on the notch close to the rubber stop. Move the torsion arm away from the rubber stop. Use a large flat head to pry up the rubber stop. It may stick a bit.
• Using a jack, on the bottom ball joint and jack the linkage up until the upper torsion stop is free of the torsion bar. Use a large flat head to pry up the rubber stop. It may stick a bit.

3. Using a soft hammer start to tap out the torsion arm. Once it gets past the rubber stop "mount" (this is the metal bar protruding from the beam between the torsion arms) the torsion arm will come out easily.

Tip: it may take some amount of tapping to get it past the mount. Keep at it, make sure to use a soft hammer. The arm can be bent if you are to rough. Also hit the torsion arm in different spots to get it to move.

4. Make sure there is plenty of grease in the beam an on the bearings. If the needle bearings or the bushings are dry they will need to be replaced.